Vu Cong Binh, Director of the Hung Yen Provincial Sub-Department of Rural Development, said the OCOP programme has transformed the mindset of most local households and production-business establishments.
It has created momentum to promote production development and improve the quality of local products; shifting from small-scale, fragmented production to value chain-oriented commodity production, applying scientific and technological advances, and aiming to build brands, expand consumption markets, and increase product value.
Hoan Long Commune in Hung Yen province is home to the Dong Tao chicken, a precious breed characterised by large legs; a tall, large body weighing from 4.5 to 6 kg, with firm, delicious meat.
To effectively tap into the economic potential of this breed, Hung Yen province has supported the Dong Tao Chicken Breeding and Business Cooperative in establishing a collective trademark for Dong Tao chicken, alongside assisting the development of processed products from Dong Tao chicken that meet OCOP standards.
Le Tuan Cuong, a member of the cooperative, said that since the Dong Tao chicken products were recognised as meeting OCOP standards, sales have become smoother.
With a stock of 400 Dong Tao chickens, his family sells between 3,000 and 4,000 breeder chickens and tons of Dong Tao chicken meat annually, generating a profit of around 150 million VND per year.
The OCOP programme has helped many production facilities in Hung Yen — enhance their brands. Vu Duc Trieu, Deputy Director of Thai Binh Seafood Joint Stock Company, shared that the company has been producing traditional fish sauce for about 70 years.
Since joining the OCOP programme, the company has followed a more systematic production process, with strict control at every stage, improving quality and stability, while ensuring safety. Their product has been awarded 4-star OCOP certification.
Additionally, the company's products receive support for participation in trade promotion programmes, fairs, exhibitions, e-commerce platforms, and sales on social media. As a result, the products have reached a wider consumer base, boosting the reputation and market position of the company's fish sauce varieties, and increasing revenue by over 20%.
To date, Hung Yen province has 606 products recognised as OCOP products. These include 493 products rated 3-star and 113 products rated 4-star.
Currently, Hung Yen is home to 303 entities with OCOP products, including 57 enterprises; 135 cooperatives; 15 cooperative groups; and 96 business establishments/households, manufacturing various groups of products, including food and beverages, medicinal herbs and herbal products, handicrafts, ornamental species, and tourism.
Hung Yen’s OCOP products have been displayed, promoted, and sold at trade fairs, exhibitions, supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, and social networks.
Prominent among them are Cay cake, peanut candy, and sesame candy from Thien Duc Company; eggs and meat from Dong Xuyen Cooperative; Hong Tien fermented crab paste; Quynh Coi rice paper; Hung Yen longan; Hung Yen longan flower honey; Hung Yen oranges; and Phung Cong rice cakes.
Some products have expanded into foreign markets, including Nam Cao silk bedding from Nam Cao Silk Cooperative; Chau Minh scarves from Chau Minh Co., Ltd.; traditional hand-embroidered paintings from Tuan Duong Export Co., Ltd.; and Hung Yen longan.
Hung Yen provincial authorities have supported OCOP participants by providing machinery, equipment, and facilities for processing and preserving agricultural products; developing roads in OCOP production areas; building and managing product trademarks; and strengthening digital transformation in media communications, websites for publicity, product promotion, and e-commerce for the region’s key products.
The OCOP programme has motivated producers to step up development, expanded production scale, generated rural employment, increased income, and enhanced living standards.
OCOP products, diverse in packaging, design, quality, and food safety, have gradually affirmed their value and quality in the market, earning consumer trust; helping to enhance the agricultural production value chain. Local authorities and production-business establishments have implemented many solutions to connect and promote local specialties, allowing OCOP products to reach farther markets.
In the context of a strongly transforming economy, the OCOP programme is not only a sustainable development solution but also a journey to enhance Hung Yen’s specialty products.
Le Trung Can, Deputy Director of the Hung Yen Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, said the most important criterion of OCOP is the genuine quality of products, rather than chasing quantity.
Therefore, evaluation and classification must be objective and transparent, alongside increased guidance and post-evaluation inspection to maintain the reputation of Hung Yen’s OCOP products in the market.
The OCOP programme also effectively leverages the potential of local land, agricultural products, and cultural values of regions; contributing to linking agriculture, services, and tourism to gradually revitalise Hung Yen’s rural economy.
In the coming period, Hung Yen province should continue supporting OCOP producers to invest in machinery, packaging, branding, and traceability systems; focus on trade promotion and placing OCOP products in modern distribution channels such as supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, and large retail systems.
The Hung Yen Sub-Department of Rural Development will continue coordinating with localities to zone stable raw material areas, improve input quality, and build production zones associated with specialties, geographic names, and clear reputations to facilitate trademark protection registration.
Meanwhile, producers should apply digital technology and digital transformation in traceability and product promotion to meet the increasing demands of domestic consumers and aim for export.
In the context of a strongly transforming economy, the OCOP programme is not only a sustainable development solution but also a journey to enhance Hung Yen’s specialty products. As quality is the key and brand is the value, each OCOP product not only earns its place on the consumption map but also asserts the identity of Hung Yen in domestic and international markets.
